Sometimes you know what a line will cost in total, not per unit — a quote for the whole scope, an allowance, a lump sum. Rather than working backwards to a unit cost, you can type the total cost straight onto the cost field. Zebel prices the field at that total and works the unit cost out for you.
To override the total cost of a cost field follow these steps.
Navigate to the desired estimate and select the "Budget & Inputs" tab. Expand the cost code that holds the cost field you want to override.
Hover over the cost field's figure in the "Total Cost" column. The hint "Click to override total cost" appears.
Click the total cost. An editor opens, labelled with the cost field's code and name followed by "Total Cost".
Type the total after the "=" sign. This is the same formula editor as the unit cost override, so you can type a plain number or build a formula from other items in the estimate.
Press the "Save Total Cost" button.
The total cost now shows your figure in an orange-bordered box, and the cost code and estimate totals update to match. The "Unit Cost" is now the total divided by the quantity — in the example, $1,400 over 7 acres gives $200 per acre. Hover over it to see "Unit cost is the overridden total cost divided by the quantity".
While the total cost is overridden, the unit cost cannot be edited, and the comps for that cost field are switched off. Hovering over a comp's switch shows "Total cost is overridden".
To remove the override, click the total cost again and press the "Reset" button. The cost field goes back to the price it had before — its unit cost override if it had one, otherwise its comps.
NOTE, a cost field with detail estimating turned on cannot have its total cost overridden, because its total is the sum of its detail rows. Hovering over its total cost shows "Total cost cannot be overridden because detail estimating is on for this cost field."
NOTE, the total cost is also read-only when the estimate cannot be edited, when it is a consolidated estimate, when you are viewing it in a currency other than the project's own, when the cost field's bid package has been awarded, and when the cost field is tied to general conditions.
NOTE, an overridden total cost is still adjusted like an overridden unit cost: "Field Overrides Escalation" escalates it, and value engineering and inline indirect costs apply on top of it. When any of these applies, the total cost shown is the adjusted figure rather than the one you typed.